The Milkman

MELLOW YELLOW MONDAY

http://mellowyellowmonday.blogspot.com.au/

THE MILKMAN

Different hemispheres, different weather,

Different memories altogether.

*

I lived my youth in a chilly clime;

Winter was freezing much of the time.

We'd collect our bottles from by the door

But the sparrows had visited them before!

The cardboard tops had been cast aside,

So they could sip the 'ice-cream' inside!

*

Australian friends tell a different tale,

Of bottled milk gone rather stale.

It was free in schools and delivered there

All in the hot and humid air!

After even less than an hour

The milky contents were rather sour!

But 'Drink up!' was the admonition,

Whatever the bottled milk's condition.

*

Different hemispheres, different weather,

Different memories altogether.

*

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COGS

The conveyor belt is relentless;

The 'items' come and go;

A tweak, a nip, a turn of screw;

Keep going, don't be slow!

Everyone dressed identically,

Every eye looking down,

Every heart beating wretchedly,

Every brow wearing a frown.

This is Thoreau's 'Quiet Desperation'

In its most painful form,

This is Huxley's 'Brave New World';

And for some it is the norm.

We gobble up what they make for us;

We never consider their plight;

They are locked in far-off factories,

Mercifully out of sight.

When they arise in the morning,

Certainly before the sun,

Do they ever feel a leap of joy

Thinking of work to be done?

Society clearly needs them,

But do we ever take heed

Of the faceless people in overalls

Who feed our endless greed?

*